It is common in the automotive industry to employ fabric covered convertible roofs and hardtop convertible roofs, which are movable from a closed position above a passenger compartment to a retracted position within a bootwell or trunk. It is also known to provide movable tonneau covers to cover the stowed convertible roofs. For example, reference should be made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,764 entitled “Vehicle Body Construction for Hardtop Convertible” which issued to Kogawa et al. on Feb. 25, 1992, and German 38 16 060 entitled “Passenger Car having a Two-Part Hardtop” which was published on Nov. 16, 1989. However, most automotive vehicles must be parked and prevented from driving when the convertible roof is moved between the closed and stowed position. Otherwise, the wind created during driving would catch the inside of the convertible roof and tonneau cover when they are pivoted to near-vertical positions thereby potentially damaging the mechanisms. Therefore, many recent vehicles have either employed electric circuits that require the parking brake to be applied or the automatic transmission must be shifted to the park position, before the convertible roof actuators are energized.
It has also become desirable to maximize the open air or open roof space above the passenger compartment. The following U.S. patents disclose various conventional sunroof constructions: U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,177 entitled “Sunroof Assembly Drain Trough for an Automotive Vehicle” which issued to Caye et al. on Oct. 5, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,100 entitled “Sunroof Assembly for an Automotive Vehicle” which issued to Ewing et al. on Sep. 14, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,779 entitled “Power Sliding Sunroof” which issued to Mizuno et al. on Mar. 30, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,937 entitled “Roof System for Vehicle” which issued to Yamamoto on Jul. 9, 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,783 entitled “Slidable, Foldable, and Removable Vehicle Sunroof” which issued to Chamings et al. on May 28, 1991. All of these patents are incorporated by reference herein. While many of these prior arrangements have significantly improved the art, however, the open air space can still be further increased while increasing passenger compartment headroom.
Another traditional automotive vehicle has employed a flexible fabric roof which can be closed by manually snapping or otherwise attaching the fabric roof to stationary roof rails and a front header. This fabric roof can also be manually rolled up to expose fully the passenger compartment between the roof rails. Notwithstanding, this conventional approach is time-consuming to close, unsightly, and cannot be easily retracted during vehicle driving and lacks adequate cold weather insulating properties.
In accordance with the present invention, an open air system for an automotive vehicle includes a roof panel, which can be retracted to a stowed position below a storage compartment cover. In another aspect of the present invention, two or more generally rigid roof panels are movable from above a passenger compartment to below a plane defined by a closed rear deck lid. A further aspect of the present invention provides a back window, which can be raised and lowered without necessitating retraction of a movable roof panel. Still another aspect of the present invention employs a pair of stationary side rails, one or more generally rigid roof panels, and a generally rigid back window, which are all movable from passenger compartment covering positions to stowed positions beneath a tonneau cover. In a further aspect of the present invention, a tonneau cover mechanism employs links and a slide. Another aspect of the present invention provides a locking system for a slidable panel. A four-bar linkage mechanism is used for a slidable panel in yet another aspect of the present invention. Additionally, a further aspect of the present invention provides an integrated tonneau cover and open air sealing arrangement.
The open air roof system of the present invention is advantageous over conventional devices in that the present invention allows for easy retraction and closure of a convertible roof with a rigid tonneau cover. The use of stationary side rails for the present invention also enhances vehicle structural integrity when the roof panels are stowed while also serving as a sturdy platform to mount elongated tracks, the corresponding roof panel driving mechanisms and the weatherstrip seal. The roof system of the present invention also advantageously allows independent venting and partial retracted opening of the front roof panel regardless of whether the back window is closed or stowed. The back window can also be opened without requiring concurrent movement of the front or rear roof panels. The sealing arrangement of the present invention is advantageous over conventional constructions since the present invention uses a single-piece seal along the entire roof and tonneau cover opening; this minimizes leakage-prone joints and reduces part count inventory. The linkage mechanisms for the slidable panels and the tonneau cover advantageously allow for engagement and disengagement from the adjacent sealing segments.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.